Cabinet door restraint

ABSTRACT

A disposable device is provided to serve as a combination door lock, gauge and support for use in the assembly and shipping of cabinets. The device is of a semi-boxed configuration having a leg mountable at one corner of the door opening opposite the hinged side thereof. One wall of the device is articulated and latches with another wall whereby when the door of the cabinet is closed, the articulated wall is snapped into a latched position over the outside corner of the door, locking it in place. The leg may be temporarily stapled to the cabinet or may have an extension which hooks around the inside face of the cabinet.

United States. Patent [191 MacDonald et al.

[451 Jan. 15, 1974 CABINET DOOR RESTRAINT [75] Inventors: Francis X.MacDonald, Canton;

Paul M. MacDonald, North Abington, both of Mass.

[73] Assignee: P. X. Industries, Inc., Rockland,

Mass.

22 Filed: July 21, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 274,047

4/1941 Edelen 292/288 2,440,798 5/1948 Hardwick 292/288 PrimaryExaminer-Robert L. Wolfe Attorney-Gerald Altman et al.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A disposable device is provided to serve as a combinationdoor lock, gauge and support for use in the assembly and shipping ofcabinets. The device is of a semi-boxed configuration having a legmountable at one corner of the door opening opposite the hinged sidethereof. One wall of the device is articulated and latches with anotherwall whereby when the door of the cabinet is closed, the articulatedwall is snapped into a latched position over the outside corner of thedoor, locking it in place. The leg may be temporarily stapled to thecabinet or may have an extension which hooks around the inside face ofthe cabinet.

4 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures CABINET DOOR RESTRAINT BACKGROUND OF THEINVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates generally tocabinet hardware and the like and more particularly is directed towardsa device of a disposable nature which serves as a combination temporarylock to hold the door in a closed position, a gauge for positioning thedoor during assembly and a support for the door during shipment.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the fabrication and subsequentshipment of cabinets such as kitchen cabinets, for example, a commonproblem exists with respect to keeping the door closed. Most cabinets ofthis type use either a magnetic latch or a light spring latch which aresufficient to keep the door'closed while upright against slight pressuresince the door should be relatively easy to open for convenientoperation. However, the latches now in use are not particularlyeffective in keeping the door-closed during shipment and damage willfrequently occur when a cabinet is removed from its shipping containeron delivery. If the cabinet is removed improperly from its container,the door may swing open and either damage the finish on the door orcrack the stiles of the cabinet.-

Heretofore, there has been no satisfactory means for preventing thistype of accident and, while pressuresensitive tape might be employed,this has the disadvantage of possibly marring the cabinet surface whenthe tape is removed.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide aneffective, low cost device adapted to'provide a positive locking actionbetween the cabinet and a door hinged thereto. A further object of thisinvention is to provide a device which, when in position, serves as agauge during initial assembly of the door to the cabinet, supports thedoor during shipment against lateral displacement and maintains the doorin a positive locked condition until removal of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention features a combination gauge,support and lock for a cabinet with a hinged door, comprising a unitarypart having walls defining a semi-boxed configuration, one wall beinghinged with respect to a second'wall and formed with a latch portionadapted to lockably engage with a cooperating latch portion of a thirdwall whereby a door corner, when received within the semi-boxed recess,may be locked in position by latching the one wall to the third wall. Aleg portion extends from a base wall inwardly over the cabinet stile forattachement thereto as by stapling or by means of an optional hookextension.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of acombination door lock, gauge and support made according to the inventionand showing the device in an open position,

FIG. 2 is another view in perspective from a different a pec showing t@QYIF? iat ls tsb Position,

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to thedrawings, the reference character 10 generally indicates a combinationtemporary gauge, support and lock for a door 12 hinged to a cabinet 14.The device 10 of the preferred embodiment is of a unitary molded plasticconstruction adapted to be mass produced at low price so as to beconveniently disposable. Normally, one device 10 will suffice for eachcabinet door being mounted at the lower corner of the door openingopposite the hinge side of the opening. This support and locking actionmay be increased by adding a second device 10 to the upper cor ner ofthe opening.

The device 10, as best shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is of a semi-boxedconfiguration, comprised of base wall 16, mutually perpendicular sidewalls 18 and 20 and a hinged wall 22 formed by an extension of the wall18 and connected thereto by means of a living hinge 24. The living hinge24 typically is formed by molding the part with a V-groove 26 facinginwardly to allow the hinged wall 22 to be swung from the open positionof FIG. 1 to the closed position of FIG. 2, generally perpendicular toboth walls 18 and 20.

The hinged wall 22 is formed with a co-planar extension 28 which, inturn, is formed with a right angular tab extension 30 formed by aleading beveled face 34 and a shoulder 36. The tab 30 in the openposition of FIG. 1 extends perpendicularly from the plane of the hingedmember 22 and is generally parallel with the wall 20. The wall 20 on itsupper outer surface is formed with a latch portion 38 formed by means ofa .cooperating beveled face 40 and a shoulder 42. The

latch portion 38 interlocks with the hook portion 32 of the tab 30 whenthe hinged wall 22 is bent down into the closed position best shown inFIG. 2. In this position, the wall 22 is locked closed and may be easilyreleased by merely inserting a finger in between the beveled face 34 ofthe hook and the outer surface of the wall 20 to bend the tab backsufficiently to allow the opposing shoulders 36 and 42 to separate. Theliving hinge 24 is somewhat resilient and provides a certain springaction when the parts are unlatched.

Extending outwardly of the hinged wall 16 from a point opposite thecorner between the walls 18 and 20 is a leg 44 of triangularcross-section. The outer face of the leg 44 is flat while the innerfaces define a right angle to provide a proper fit at the corner of acabinet opening as best shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. The length of the leg 44typically corresponds with the thickness of an average front wall of acabinet and may be of perhaps an inch or so in length. The leg extendsin a direction perpendicular to the plane of the wall 16 originating ata diagonal edge 46 on the outer corner of the wall 16. In practice, theleg 44 serves to position the device in place and also serves to receivea staple or the like for fastening the device temporarily to thecabinet. A staple, for example, may be driven through the flat face ofthe leg to hold the device in the corner of the door opening assuggested in FIG. 3. Since the preferred form of the device is inplastic, the staple is easily driven through the leg 44.

Instead of stapling the device in place, the device may be held inposition by providing an optional second leg 48 shown in dotted line inFIGS. 1, 2 and 5. The second leg 48 extends from the outer end of theleg 44 in a direction parallel with the right-hand edge of the wall 16as viewed in FIG. 1. The leg 48 typically has a length of perhaps aninch or so, the free end terminating at a point generally even with theplane of the wall 18. The leg preferably is fiat on both faces and isintegral with the leg 44. In this embodiment, the device is merelyslipped over the stile so that the leg 48 extends across the inner faceof the front cabinet wall as best shown in FIG. 5. Thus, when the door12 is closed against the wall 16 of the device and the hinged wall 22 isclosed over the corner of the door and latched as best shown in FIG. 4,the device will be locked in position and the door cannot be openeduntil the latch elements 32 and 38 are disconnected.

The device serves a number of functions. Preferably, the device is a lowcost disposable item which will keep a cabinet door locked duringshipment. Once the cabinet has reached its destination and placed in anupright position, the device is removed by merely disconnecting thelatching portions and removing the device from the cabinet. Thereafterthe cabinet will be kept closed by its regular latching mechanismwhether mechanical or magnetic. Secondly, the device serves to supportthe door itself should the cabinet be dropped accidentally. The doorwill be thus held at three points instead of the usual two supportpoints provided by the hinges. Thirdly, the device may serve as a gaugewhen the door is first being assembled onto the cabinet. When used forthis purpose, the hinges are first screwed or otherwise attached to thedoor, the device is mounted in position and the door is then placed onthe front of the cabinet over the door opening with the door cornerseating in the device. The device properly positions the door withrespect to the cabinet so that the door hinges may be now be screwedonto the face of the cabinet.

Having thus described the invention what We claim and desire to obtainby Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A restraint for the door of a cabinet, comprising a. a body portionformed with a base wall and a pair of mutually perpendicular contiguousside walls defining a semiboxed recess,

b. one of said side walls being formed with a first latch portion,

c. a hinged wall connected to the other of said side walls,

(1. said hinged wall being formed with a second latch portion adapted tolockably engage said first latch portion when said hinged wall is closedthereagainst, and,

e. a leg extending perpendicularly from said base wall for engagementwith said cabinet.

2. A restraint according to claim 1 wherein said body portion and saidhinged wall are of a plastic material, said other wall being formed witha groove at the juncture of said hinged wall to form a flexible hinge.

3. A restraint according to claim 1 wherein said leg is formed with anextension substantially parallel to said base wall.

4. A restraint according to claim 1 wherein said first latch portion isin the form of a beveled face and shoulder and said second latch portionis in the form of an oppositely facing beveled face and shoulder.

1. A restraint for the door of a cabinet, comprising a. a body portionformed with a base wall and a pair of mutually perpendicular contiguousside walls defining a semiboxed recess, b. one of said side walls beingformed with a first latch portion, c. a hinged wall connected to theother of said side walls, d. said hinged wall being formed with a secondlatch portion adapted to lockably engage said first latch portion whensaid hinged wall is closed thereagainst, and, e. a leg extendingperpendicularly from said base wall for engagement with said cabinet. 2.A restraint according to claim 1 wherein said body portion and saidhinged wall are of a plastic material, said other wall being formed witha groove at the juncture of said hinged wall to form a flexible hinge.3. A restraint according to claim 1 wherein said leg is formed with anextension substantially parallel to said base wall.
 4. A restraintaccording to claim 1 wherein said first latch portion is in the form ofa beveled face and shoulder and said second latch portion is in the formof an oppositely facing beveled face and shoulder.